Rating: Estimated percentage of the universe of TV households (or other specified group) tuned to a program in the average minute. Ratings are expressed as a percent. More information on ratings is available here.

Share (of Audience): The percent of households (or persons) using television who are tuned to a specific program, station or network in a specific area at a specific time. (See also, Rating, which represents tuning or viewing as a percent of the entire population being measured.)

Fast National Ratings: These first national ratings, including demographics, are available at approximately 11 AM (ET) the day after telecast, and are released to subscribing customers daily. These data, from the National People Meter sample, are strictly time-period information, based on the normal broadcast network feed, and include all programming on the affiliated stations, sometimes including network programming, sometimes not. The figures may include stations that did not air the entire network feed, as well as local news breaks or cutaways for local coverage or other programming. Fast Affiliate ratings are not as useful for live programs and are likely to differ significantly from the final results, because the data reflect normal broadcast feed patterns. For example, with a World Series game, Fast Affiliate Ratings would include whatever aired from 8-11PM on affiliates in the Pacific Time Zone, following the live baseball game, but not game coverage that begins at 5PM PT. The same would be true of Presidential debates as well as live award shows and breaking news reports.

Time Shifted Viewing – Program ratings for national sources are produced in three streams of data – Live, Live+Same Day (Live+SD) and Live+7 Day. Time shifted figures account for incremental viewing that takes place with DVRs. Live+Same Day (Live+SD) include viewing during the same broadcast day as the original telecast, with a cut-off of 3:00AM local time when meters transmit daily viewing to Nielsen for processing. Live+7 Day ratings include incremental viewing that takes place during the 7 days following a telecast.For more information see Numbers 101 and Numbers 102.

I would have watched AMW if I had known it was on. I use to watch every Sat. till I thought they cancelled it. Also, I thought I read somewhere (here) that AMW was going to move to Lifetime. Am wrong????

Christy

I wander if the ratings are so low is because now that it’s lighter outside,more
people want to be outside doing other things.

EatMorePez

@Justin

AMW has been airing on Lifetime since December, and they recently ordered 20 more episodes:

Justin wrote I would have watched AMW if I had known it was on. I use to watch every Sat. till I thought they cancelled it.

I think you’ve got a great point. I used to know what was on Saturday nights. now I have no idea. This trend of switching shows, hiatus in the middle of series, one week a new episode next week a repeat from an earlier seaon has ruined the viewing patterns of many. Networks used to understand the strength of doing something by habit, now they are paying the price of their own poor decisions

Lane

.4 for CSI? A Vampire Diaries repeat gets the same.

jake

Saturday is a dead night, but friday and tuesday are too, not in the same rate but still…

psychic

…that was the last America’s Most Wanted? I was unaware of that… o_o

Dave112

NBC is pathetic. Only two shows “the Voice” and “America’s Got Talent” have OK ratings. The CEO should step down to save this company.

Jay

Why are NBC still screening the Firm. They’d be better off with back to back SVU repeats…

Don

Still good for 48 Hours.

Cath

So, if you totaled all viewers, networks and cable, do the numbers hit one hundred percent? In the demo, for instance? Is there actually a show out there that gets higher than a 1.0 anywhere on TV, let us say, at 7?

If this is true why can’t the networks find out where the viewers are and play to that niche? Networks are accessible to more viewers. Running repeats seems to not be working. On CBS the biggest problem is that the viewer has no idea which show is repeated because it is rotating roulette. They basically just throw something in there and even when listed the listings many times they are incorrect. May as well watch the DVR or a movie which, I suspect, is what a lot of viewers who are home do. Football is a good idea but what happens the rest of the year?

david

NBC 12 in Phoenix did not air the Firm last night instead they had a repeat of Pats Run from yesterday morning at that time.

Doug

@Cath – the share numbers do, all the time, because share is a percentage of people watching TV at that very moment. I have no idea how they figure out the share numbers in L+SD, though.

http://tvbythenumbers.com Bill Gorman

” the share numbers do, all the time, because share is a percentage of people watching TV at that very moment. I have no idea how they figure out the share numbers in L+SD, though.”

Share is calculated based on when a program was actually viewed, whether Live or via DVR.

So a program recorded on Saturday night, but viewed during the 8pm hour on Sunday would have its share calculated based on the TV viewing that occurred during the Sunday 8pm hour. (a very simplified example).

Ultima

@Dave112NBC is pathetic. Only two shows “the Voice” and “America’s Got Talent” have OK ratings. The CEO should step down to save this company.

Comcast only bought NBC Universal last year…

Kaylie

Ewww to CBS. Those numbers I expect networks like Disney to get.

Oliver

@Dave112

NBC is pathetic. Only two shows “the Voice” and “America’s Got Talent” have OK ratings. The CEO should step down to save this company.

Comcast bought NBCUniversal in January 2011 and replaced chairman Jeff Zucker with Robert Greenblatt. This will be the first full development season with the new owners and Greenblatt at the helm.

Dan S

There may come a day not too far off that the nets may simply turn Sat nights over to the local affiliates. Fridays will then become the new Saturday filled with cheap reality schlock & burn offs like The Firm.

cc

If these numbers don’t wake up the networks, nothing will. U can come up with any excuse for low numbers, but if the networks continue to put on crap programming and endless reruns they’re finding out viewers are finding other alternatives, as well they should.

Viewers seem to have no problem finding the networks if there is something worth seeing. Like Sara said, you can’t show one new show then fill in the following weeks with reruns trying to stretch out a season and expect viewers to keep tuning in. Spend some money, order more episodes. All they care about now is getting enough episodes for syndication to make more money, and the hell with the viewers.

BJM

Would have been nice to know that AMW was on. I would have watched if I had known. I’ve gotten used to the fact that there’s nothing on Saturday nights anymore, so I watch cable.